Search results for ""author eric a posner""
The University of Chicago Press The Last Resort: The Financial Crisis and the Future of Bailouts
The bailouts during the recent financial crisis enraged the public. They felt unfair--and counterproductive: people who take risks must be allowed to fail. If we reward firms that make irresponsible investments, costing taxpayers billions of dollars, aren't we encouraging them to continue to act irresponsibly, setting the stage for future crises? And beyond the ethics of it was the question of whether the government even had the authority to bail out failing firms like Bear Stearns and AIG. The answer, according to Eric A. Posner, is no. The federal government freely and frequently violated the law with the bailouts--but it did so in the public interest. An understandable lack of sympathy toward Wall Street has obscured the fact that bailouts have happened throughout economic history and are unavoidable in any modern, market-based economy. And they're actually good. Contrary to popular belief, the financial system cannot operate properly unless the government stands ready to bail out banks and other firms. During the recent crisis, Posner agues, the law didn't give federal agencies sufficient power to rescue the financial system. The legal constraints were damaging, but harm was limited because the agencies--with a few exceptions--violated or improvised elaborate evasions of the law. Yet the agencies also abused their power. If illegal actions were what it took to advance the public interest, Posner argues, we ought to change the law, but we need to do so in a way that also prevents agencies from misusing their authority. In the aftermath of the crisis, confusion about what agencies did do, should have done, and were allowed to do, has prevented a clear and realistic assessment and may hamper our response to future crises. Taking up the common objections raised by both right and left, Posner argues that future bailouts will occur. Acknowledging that inevitability, we can and must look ahead and carefully assess our policy options before we need them.
£22.25
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd Economics of Public International Law
This major book - edited by a leading authority - presents a careful selection of papers which analyse international law from a rational choice perspective. Interdisciplinary in scope, it includes work by professors in law, political science and economics. It addresses the proposition that states act rationally and behave in ways that are in the interest of their populations or internal groups. Topics include international adjudication, human rights law, compliance with international law, sanctions andinternational legal responsibility.The book will be an essential source of reference for scholars and students working in international law, international relations and related fields.
£273.00
The University of Chicago Press The Perils of Global Legalism
The first two years of the Obama administration have led to expectations, both in the United States and abroad, that in the coming years America will increasingly promote the international rule of law - a position that many believe is both ethically necessary and in the nation's best interests. With "The Perils of Global Legalism", Eric A. Posner explains that such views demonstrate a dangerously naive tendency toward legalism - an idealistic belief that law can be effective even in the absence of legitimate institutions of governance. After tracing the historical roots of the concept, Posner carefully lays out the many illusions - such as universalism, sovereign equality, and the possibility of disinterested judgment by politically unaccountable officials - on which the legalistic view is founded. Drawing on such examples as NATO's invasion of Serbia, attempts to ban the use of land mines, and the free-trade provisions of the WTO, Posner demonstrates throughout that the weaknesses of international law confound legalist ambitions - and that whatever their professed commitments, all nations stand ready to dispense with international agreements when it suits their short- or long-term interests.
£21.53
Oxford University Press Inc How Antitrust Failed Workers
A trenchant account of an unacknowledged driver of inequality and wage stagnation in America: the abandonment of antitrust law, which has allowed corporations to combine into a smaller number of massive conglomerates whose market dominance robs workers of their bargaining power. The consequences of the massive consolidation wave in corporate America that began decades ago are now increasingly apparent: labor markets are no longer competitive. Since the 1970s, Americans have seen income and wealth inequality skyrocket--and job opportunities stagnate. There are many theories of why this happened, including the decline of organized labor and the introduction of tax policies that favored the rich. However, another crucial event was the precipitous decline in antitrust enforcement that began in earnest during the Reagan administration. With ever-increasing combination and consolidation, workers had fewer options to turn to. In How Antitrust Law Failed Workers, Eric Posner documents the role of antitrust in our economy and why it failed. Only through reforming antitrust law can we shield workers from employers' overwhelming market power. As Posner explains, antitrust laws were created to protect the labor market by attacking monopolies, like Facebook and Google today, that are able to either charge high prices or degrade the quality of their services because customers cannot switch to competitors. Antitrust laws are also used to attack business cartels that can fix prices. In recent years, it has become clear that firms with market power not only charge higher prices; they also suppress wages and output. Many employers use anticompetitive devices--like covenants not to compete for workers and no-poaching agreements--to advance their market power at the expense of workers. Posner shares stories that illustrate how the problem is playing out on the ground, and then contextualizes what is going on via a concise history of the American economy and labor relations since the 1980s. Essential reading for anyone interested in fighting economic inequality, How Antitrust Failed Workers also offers a sharp primer on the true nature of the American economy--one that is increasingly uncompetitive and tilted against workers.
£27.41
Antoni Bosch Editor, S.A. Mercados radicales: Cómo subvertir el capitalismo y la democracia para lograr una sociedad justa
En muchas ocasiones, la desigualdad económica, el estancamiento y la inestabilidad política del mundo actual se achacan al libre mercado. Según esta visión, la solución pasaría por atar en corto al mercado. Mercados radicales le da la vuelta a esta idea, y prácticamente a todo el pensamiento convencional tanto a favor como en contra de los mercados. Este libro desvela maneras novedosas y audaces de organizar el mercado en beneficio de todos, y argumenta que la fuerza emancipadora de unos mercados verdaderamente abiertos, libres y competitivos permitiría superar el espíritu desquiciado de nuestro siglo XXI para conducirnos a una mayor igualdad, prosperidad y cooperación.Eric Posner y E. Glen Weyl demuestran que la propiedad privada es inherentemente monopolística y que a todos nos iría mejor si estuviera sometida a un tipo de subasta pública que favoreciera el bien común. Sostienen que el principio de «una persona, un voto» es una cortapisa para la democracia y proponen una ingeniosa alternativa. Proponen, además, aprovechar las leyes antimonopolio para liberar a los mercados del dominio de los inversores institucionales y crear un movimiento de trabajadores de los datos (es decir, de los usuarios de las redes sociales) para obligar a los monopolios digitales a compensarlos por la cesión de sus datos.Sostienen, en definitiva, que una expansión radical del alcance de los mercados es la vía más fiable para reducir la desigualdad, promover el crecimiento económico y resolver los conflictos políticos.
£22.95
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd Social Norms, Nonlegal Sanctions, and the Law
This authoritative collection brings together a careful selection of previously published articles that use economics to analyze the interaction of law, on the one hand, and social norms and nonlegal sanctions on the other. The articles cover a range of foundational questions. What are social norms and nonlegal sanctions? Do strong laws undermine social norms, thus weakening other valuable forms of social cooperation? Can laws be used to exploit existing social norms, so that the laws are more effective than they would be otherwise? The contributing authors use a variety of economic models and concepts to address these questions.
£290.00
Princeton University Press Climate Change Justice
Climate change and justice are so closely associated that many people take it for granted that a global climate treaty should--indeed, must--directly address both issues together. But, in fact, this would be a serious mistake, one that, by dooming effective international limits on greenhouse gases, would actually make the world's poor and developing nations far worse off. This is the provocative and original argument of Climate Change Justice. Eric Posner and David Weisbach strongly favor both a climate change agreement and efforts to improve economic justice. But they make a powerful case that the best--and possibly only--way to get an effective climate treaty is to exclude measures designed to redistribute wealth or address historical wrongs against underdeveloped countries. In clear language, Climate Change Justice proposes four basic principles for designing the only kind of climate treaty that will work--a forward-looking agreement that requires every country to make greenhouse--gas reductions but still makes every country better off in its own view. This kind of treaty has the best chance of actually controlling climate change and improving the welfare of people around the world.
£29.76
Princeton University Press Climate Change Justice
Climate change and justice are so closely associated that many people take it for granted that a global climate treaty should--indeed, must--directly address both issues together. But, in fact, this would be a serious mistake, one that, by dooming effective international limits on greenhouse gases, would actually make the world's poor and developing nations far worse off. This is the provocative and original argument of Climate Change Justice. Eric Posner and David Weisbach strongly favor both a climate change agreement and efforts to improve economic justice. But they make a powerful case that the best--and possibly only--way to get an effective climate treaty is to exclude measures designed to redistribute wealth or address historical wrongs against underdeveloped countries. In clear language, Climate Change Justice proposes four basic principles for designing the only kind of climate treaty that will work--a forward-looking agreement that requires every country to make greenhouse--gas reductions but still makes every country better off in its own view. This kind of treaty has the best chance of actually controlling climate change and improving the welfare of people around the world.
£20.00
The University of Chicago Press Cost-Benefit Analysis: Economic, Philosophical, and Legal Perspectives
Cost-benefit analysis is a widely used governmental evaluation tool, though academics remain skeptical. This volume gathers prominent contributors from law, economics, and philosophy for discussion of cost-benefit analysis, specifically its moral foundations, applications and limitations.This new scholarly debate includes not only economists, but also contributors from philosophy, cognitive psychology, legal studies, and public policy who can further illuminate the justification and moral implications of this method and specify alternative measures.These articles originally appeared in the Journal of Legal Studies.Contributors:- Matthew D. Adler - Gary S. Becker- John Broome - Robert H. Frank- Robert W. Hahn - Lewis A. Kornhauser- Martha C. Nussbaum - Eric A. Posner- Richard A. Posner - Henry S. Richardson- Amartya Sen - Cass R. Sunstein- W. Kip Viscusi
£19.26
The University of Chicago Press Law and Happiness
Since the earliest days of philosophy, thinkers have debated the meaning of the term happiness and the nature of the good life. But it is only in recent years that the study of happiness - or 'hedonics' - has developed into a formal field of inquiry, cutting across a broad range of disciplines and offering insights into a variety of crucial questions of law and public policy. "Law and Happiness" brings together the best and most influential thinkers in the field to explore the question of what happiness is - and what factors can be demonstrated to increase or decrease it. Martha C. Nussbaum offers an account of the way that hedonics can productively be applied to psychology; Cass R. Sunstein considers the unexpected relationship between happiness and health problems; Matthew Adler and Eric A. Posner view hedonics through the lens of cost-benefit analysis; David A. Weisbach considers the relationship between happiness and taxation; Mark A. Cohen examines the role that crime - and fear of crime - can play in people's assessment of their happiness; and, other distinguished contributors take similarly innovative approaches to the topic of happiness. The result is a kaleidoscopic overview of this increasingly prominent field, offering surprising new perspectives and incisive analyses that will have profound implications for the law and our lives.
£28.78
The University of Chicago Press Law and Happiness
Since the earliest days of philosophy, thinkers have debated the meaning of the term happiness and the nature of the good life. But it is only in recent years that the study of happiness - or 'hedonics' - has developed into a formal field of inquiry, cutting across a broad range of disciplines and offering insights into a variety of crucial questions of law and public policy. "Law and Happiness" brings together the best and most influential thinkers in the field to explore the question of what happiness is - and what factors can be demonstrated to increase or decrease it. Martha C. Nussbaum offers an account of the way that hedonics can productively be applied to psychology; Cass R. Sunstein considers the unexpected relationship between happiness and health problems; Matthew Adler and Eric A. Posner view hedonics through the lens of cost-benefit analysis; David A. Weisbach considers the relationship between happiness and taxation; Mark A. Cohen examines the role that crime - and fear of crime - can play in people's assessment of their happiness; and, other distinguished contributors take similarly innovative approaches to the topic of happiness. The result is a kaleidoscopic overview of this increasingly prominent field, offering surprising new perspectives and incisive analyses that will have profound implications for the law and our lives.
£81.00
Princeton University Press Radical Markets: Uprooting Capitalism and Democracy for a Just Society
Revolutionary ideas on how to use markets to achieve fairness and prosperity for allMany blame today's economic inequality, stagnation, and political instability on the free market. The solution is to rein in the market, right? Radical Markets turns this thinking on its head. With a new foreword by Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin and virtual reality pioneer Jaron Lanier as well as a new afterword by Eric Posner and Glen Weyl, this provocative book reveals bold new ways to organize markets for the good of everyone. It shows how the emancipatory force of genuinely open, free, and competitive markets can reawaken the dormant nineteenth-century spirit of liberal reform and lead to greater equality, prosperity, and cooperation.Only by radically expanding the scope of markets can we reduce inequality, restore robust economic growth, and resolve political conflicts. But to do that, we must replace our most sacred institutions with truly free and open competition—Radical Markets shows how.
£15.99
Princeton University Press Radical Markets: Uprooting Capitalism and Democracy for a Just Society
Revolutionary ideas on how to use markets to bring about fairness and prosperity for allMany blame today's economic inequality, stagnation, and political instability on the free market. The solution is to rein in the market, right? Radical Markets turns this thinking—and pretty much all conventional thinking about markets, both for and against—on its head. The book reveals bold new ways to organize markets for the good of everyone. It shows how the emancipatory force of genuinely open, free, and competitive markets can reawaken the dormant nineteenth-century spirit of liberal reform and lead to greater equality, prosperity, and cooperation.Eric Posner and Glen Weyl demonstrate why private property is inherently monopolistic, and how we would all be better off if private ownership were converted into a public auction for public benefit. They show how the principle of one person, one vote inhibits democracy, suggesting instead an ingenious way for voters to effectively influence the issues that matter most to them. They argue that every citizen of a host country should benefit from immigration—not just migrants and their capitalist employers. They propose leveraging antitrust laws to liberate markets from the grip of institutional investors and creating a data labor movement to force digital monopolies to compensate people for their electronic data.Only by radically expanding the scope of markets can we reduce inequality, restore robust economic growth, and resolve political conflicts. But to do that, we must replace our most sacred institutions with truly free and open competition—Radical Markets shows how.
£22.50
